It's a move we were told could help protect us after the Equifax data breach — except many of us are having trouble making it.

The credit-reporting company said last week hackers stole personal data from an estimated 143 million Americans, and experts advised consumers to place a security "freeze" on their credit reports to protect them from cyber thieves. But users on Twitter complained they ran into problems initiating freezes with the national credit reporting companies when they tried to do so by phone and online. I encountered the same.

What happens when all of America tries to freeze their credit

It's not pretty. Equifax and Experian did not respond to requests for comment, but TransUnion said the number of consumers asking for freezes is dominating their resources.

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The news from credit reporting company Equifax that 143 million Americans had their information exposed is very serious. Experts say once your personal data is out there, it's basically out there forever. (Sept. 8)
AP

"We have taken several steps to increase capacity and communication to support concerned consumers, such as adding agents, keeping our call center open through the weekend and authorizing overtime," TransUnion spokesman David Blumberg said.

And then there was me

Bottom line: I was able to successfully freeze my credit at three of the four credit reporting agencies.

Equifax: No dice. I called 1-800-349-9960, went through the process of providing my personal information, but in the end received a message that said my freeze could not be completed. When I tried to initiate the freeze online, I was told "System Currently Unavailable - Error 500."

Not good.(Photo: A screengrab after I attempted to freeze my credit online with Equifax.)

Late Thursday night, Equifax released a statement acknowledging the high volume of security freeze requests and said that they were "offline for approximately an hour," Washington Post reporter Brian Fung said on Twitter.

Statement just now from Equifax on suspected attack vector, temporary outage of credit-freeze processing and arbitration clause: pic.twitter.com/iwsTNTbpCu

Experian: Smooth sailing. I called 1‑888‑397‑3742, provided my personal information, and was told that I had initiated a freeze. The company is mailing me a pin (that's what I'll use when I need to lift my freeze).

TransUnion: I was able to freeze my credit, but not by phone, which was my preference. Avivah Litan, a security analyst at financial research firm Gartner, told me picking up the phone is far less risky than freezing your credit online. I called TransUnion at 1-888-909-8872, provided my personal information, created a pin, and was told my freeze couldn't be completed. The automated agent said I was being transferred, but I was disconnected. I was, however, able to initiate the freeze on its website.

Innovis: Quick and easy. I called 1-800-540-2505, provided personal info, and the company initiated my freeze. My pin is being mailed.

Equifax stock plunged despite the company's CEO annoucing changes after a security breach that may have exposed the data of up to 143 million people. Fred Katayama reports.
Video provided by Reuters
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SECURITY BREACH AT EQUIFAX
Expert: No way to get back stolen Equifax data | 1:19

The news from credit reporting company Equifax that 143 million Americans had their information exposed is very serious. Experts say once your personal data is out there, it's basically out there forever. (Sept. 8)
AP